Three-layer security for Modi

Intricate traffic plans in Guwahati

Guwahati, Feb. 7: Elaborate traffic arrangements have been made ahead of Narendra Modiís rally at Veterinary College playground in Khanapara here tomorrow.

With over three lakh people expected to be present at the BJP prime ministerial candidateís rally, vehicles coming from different parts of the state will be allowed to park at different spots.

The police said vehicles from lower Assam would be allowed to drop their passengers off at Tripura Road point on National Highway 37 and then allowed to park at Greenwood Resort and the premises of Young Construction and Negiís.

Vehicles coming from Upper Assam will have to drop their passengers off at Research Gate point and park on the express highway and Sai Baba Temple complex at Cachal.

The BJP leaders and the media will have to park their cars at Ganesh Mandir playground. The vehicles of security personnel, including escort vehicles, will be parked at Assam Administrative Staff College.

Two-wheelers and bicycles will be allowed to park near Khanapara Rotary.

State BJP president Sarbananda Sonowal at the rally venue in Guwahati on Friday. Picture by UB Photos

Light motor vehicles can be parked at Beltola Bihu field, Beltola Bazar field, on Tripura Road (up to NERIM point), Beltola Tiniali to Assam Administrative Staff College, Dakhin Beltola High School field, water resource office complex, river research office complex and the campus of the proposed five-star hotel at Khanapara.

Till the rally is over, parking will not be allowed on the carriageway of NH37 from Khanapara to Basistha Chariali and from the main entrance to Research Gate point.

There will be restrictions on the movement of heavy commercial vehicles to and from B.G. Yard from 7am till the rally is over.

Additional director-general of police (law and order) A.P. Raut and senior superintendent of police (city) A.P. Tiwari, accompanied by police officers from Gujarat, visited the venue to take stock of the security arrangements today.

A 40-member team of Gujarat Police and 17 NSG commandos will provide security to Modi during the rally.

Tiwari said seven companies of armed forces and 500 unarmed jawans will be deployed at the venue. Two superintendents of police will be in charge of security at the venue and they will be assisted by seven additional SPs and eight deputy SPs. Altogether, 17 inspectors and 160 sub-inspectors will also be deployed.

Bags, briefcases, knives, any kind of inflammable items and non-transparent water bottles will not be allowed inside the venue, Tiwari said.

There will 11 entry and exit points to the venue and 90 CCTV cameras have been installed for surveillance.

A BJP source said some prominent persons, including former AJYCP leader and journalist Adip Kumar Phukan and former director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) R.C. Deka, are likely to join the BJP in the presence of Modi.

Five LED screens will be put up around the venue so that people who are not able to enter the ground can also hear Modiís speech.

In the middle of all the preparations, Assam BJP president Sarbananda Sonowal today alleged that the Congress was trying to misuse the administrative machinery to make the rally unsuccessful.